NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California unveiled its mystery to the public, but only for two days beginning Saturday as an Open House to show JPL's past, present and future. The annual Open House event has attracted children in particular. Thousands of people, many of them parents taking their children, drove to world of warcraft power leveling, the JPL early on Saturday and Sunday morning world of warcraft power leveling and waited in long lines for a chance to park their cars. JPL keeps its door shut the rest of the year. Even reporters have to show their US citizenship to get in for an interview. But in the early morning on Saturday, anyone can get in after a security check-up. No IDs will be shown, no questions will be asked. The purpose is to light the interest of the younger generation for the exploration of the universe. Today's young visitors could be tomorrow's astronauts to land on the Moon or on Mars. At one booth, over a dozen of children were lying on the ground. Scientists were operating a mimic Mars rover to roll over their body. "This is the way for the children to feel how the Mars roller works," said one scientist. On her side, a father was patiently advising his daughter to maple story mesos, lay face down to feel the wheels of the rover over her back. In a big tent, several Mars rovers were moving between rocks maple story mesos. With visitors watching closely, the rovers move over the rocks while still keeping balance of the vehicle. When one wheel hits a big rock, it can lift the wheel to let the whole vehicle move over it. The event, themed "Worlds Beyond," features displays and demonstrations from numerous space missions, and a first look at JPL's recently renovated von Karman Visitor Center. The biggest attraction is wedding dresses, the JPL -built Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, retrieved from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope last year by space-walking astronauts. The instrument, affectionately known as the "Camera that Saved Hubble," is wedding dresses on loan from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. The camera captured many of Hubble's iconic space images. The historic Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, developed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, has arrived at world of warcraft power leveling, JPL in advance of this weekend's annual Open House. "It was 17 years ago this month that this camera left JPL on its way to Earth orbit," said John Trauger of JPL, NASA's principal investigator for world of warcraft power leveling the camera. "It looks almost brand new -- which is remarkable when you think it spent over 15 years orbiting 353 miles straight up," he added. The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 was the workhorse camera on Hubble after being added to the observatory in December 1993 to correct an imaging problem created by the telescope's faulty primary mirror. During its tenure aboard Hubble, the camera produced most of the stunning deep space images ever released. Its high image resolution and quality are some of the reasons the camera became the space telescope's most requested instrument during its operational lifetime. The Wide Field and flyff penya, Planetary Camera 2 was the Hubble Space Telescope's longest serving instrument with 15 years aboard the observatory. The newly-built von Karman Auditorium with 420 seats hosts viewings of the video "Journey to the Planets and Beyond," presenting an overview of JPL, its history flyff penya and its missions. Other Open House highlights include: JPL's next spacecraft bound for Mars; Mars Science Laboratory, under construction in the lab's largest "clean room;" JPL's Microdevices Lab, where engineers and scientists use tiny technology to revolutionize space exploration. Another attraction is to show luna gold, how NASA instruments can help scientists better understand global climate change. One scientist held ice in her hand luna gold and the camera "sees" the change of temperature by showing different colors on the screen. Also, when she put a black plastic bag in front of her hand, the camera still can "see" through the plastic bag. The JPL Open House provides a memorable experience for adults and children, with plenty of hands-on activities, and opportunities to talk with scientists and engineers. To help those who can not come to JPL for the Open House, selected locations at the Open House are featured live online on Ustream TV at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasajpl on Saturday, May 15, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. Pacific time (1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Eastern time). Each time slot will feature a new location at the top of each hour. Even staying at home, people can still participate in the event.

As International Museum Day celebrations take place across the world today, China is enjoying a surge of new museum openings, winning widespread applause for boosting people's cultural life, but also generating criticism for the problems caused by the race for rapid construction. A number of new museums have recently opened their doors in China, with hundreds currently under construction across the country. "Visiting museums is always one of my favorite things while traveling in different cities," commented Wang Juan from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. "It's one of the most efficient ways to understand the city's culture and history." Wang added dog clothes, she was happy to see an increase in the number of museums in her own city, adding that they offer her many more choices for her family during the holidays and in their free time. "They stand as live history books," Wang explained dog clothes. "For my 12-year-old son, they are the best places to learn Chinese history." China's new museums cover a variety of subjects, from traditional Chinese art and culture, to various industries, including film, technology and animation. Xi'an is among the cities with the largest number of museums. In the next three years, the city's 47 museums will grow to 100, according to an announcement at a meeting on cultural relics held in Xi'an in March. The meeting revealed that 15-20 new museums would open by the end of the year. Some experts maple story mesos, and residents warmly welcomed the ambitious goal, saying that as an ancient city with abundant Chinese cultural relics maple story mesos and historical sites, it stands to reason that Xi'an should be No.1 among all Chinese cities in terms of the number of museums. Zhao Liguang, director of Xi'an Beilin Museum, one of the most famous museums in the city, is among the advocates of the ambitious 100-museum plan, saying that Xi'an has been acclaimed as "a natural museum of Chinese history and culture" for the numerous invaluable cultural relics it has, its history of thousands of years should be recognized and it once served as the capital of 13 dynasties. However, some critics have argued that while opening more museums can be of great benefit in terms of preserving relics and boosting public education, the goal of opening 53 museums in such a short time is excessive. "It is not difficult to imagine Archlord gold, what will become of these fast- built museums," commented museum-goer Du Lijun, a Xi'an resident. "It is probable that they will be constructions that look like a museum, but never have the function of a museum. Such a huge project could only be a waste of money." Xi'an is not alone in the fierce battle for Archlord gold the title of the No.1 city with the largest number of museums. Competition was ignited five years ago, when the central government expressed for the first time its supportive attitude toward building private museums and released a series of laws and regulations to promote museums of all levels. Almost immediately after the announcement, the government of Dongguan, Guangdong Province, declared it would spend 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to open new museums. In 2006, a 100-museum plan was drawn up by Shanghai municipal government, stating that its 100-museum goal would be accomplished within five years. Meanwhile, the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, also said it will make efforts to build more museums and become the city with the largest number of museums in western China. Zhang Bai, former vice-director of the National Cultural Relics Bureau and general director of the Chinese Society of Museums, said opening more museums in China should be encouraged, since China still lags far behind Western countries in terms of the numbers of museums. "Museums always play an important role in combing Dragonica crone, and a displaying a country's history Dragonica crone and culture," Zhang told the Global Times. "In many developed Western countries museums are an essential part of city life." However, Zhang also expressed his concerns toward the recent mass building of museums. "Opening more and more museums can't solve the problem forever, because it is the collections and displays function, not just the constructions themselves," he said. The lack of money is always a problem haunting museums in China, according to Zhang. Except for several large-scale museums run by the central government, many museums once built face funding shortages, making it difficult to afford new pieces and upgrade existing equipment and facilities. Museum Day's countrywide celebrations A series of activities will take place in China today to mark International Museum Day. In addition to museum-themed events and performances, many facilities are offering free entry or discounted tickets. In Beijing, 30 museums will be open free to the public. Beijingers can also enjoy an antique appraisal event by experts and scholars at Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture, organized by world of warcraft power leveling, Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage. Last week the administration issued 600 tickets to people wanting to identify their possessions, with those missing out world of warcraft power leveling still able to attend the event to observe. Several museums are holding lectures today with topics focusing on a range of timely concepts including "low-carbon economy" and "cultural construction." Residents of Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province can enjoy a Music Epic concert today at Henan Museum, featuring ancient Chinese music. Hubei Museum is providing over 200 volunteers rs gold, and free guides to help visitors better understand the museum. The week-long initiative also encourages visitors to leave their feedback about the museum and its exhibitions. Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province is offering a range of exhibitions based rs gold on the city's international characteristics. Romance Along the Rhine, an exhibition featuring German antiques collected by Chinese travelers includes German tile, silver sets, porcelain and stamps. A total of 21 museums in Qingdao will also be open free of charge or offering discounted entry tickets. Today is the 34th International Museum Day to be celebrated around the world since its inception in 1977. Each year an advisory committee decides a theme for the celebration, "Museums for Social Harmony" was selected for this year.

Six months after the outbreak of a severe economic crisis in Greece that sent shockwave across the world, with the helping hand of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Greek government appears more confident that the country will solve its problems and escape the worst scenario. But "they estimate without the hotelier," as a Greek proverb says. Thousands of citizens who take to the streets twice a week to protest the austerity measures and the planned reforms, remind Prime Minister George Papandreou and his team that they are not willing to cooperate. Papandreou wow power leveling stressed repeatedly that radical change is the only way to save Greece from a bankruptcy, to reduce an enormous budget deficit that currently stands at 13.7 percent to less than 3 percent in three years, overcome the crisis and move onto prosperity for all. The socialist premier said wow power leveling that Greece could no longer spend much more than it produced, that there was no future and the only viable solution to stand again strong on its feet is the full implementation of a Stability and Growth Program that introduces harsh austerity measures on Greek citizens and radical reforms on the way the Greek state functions. The recent Eve isk, activation of the EU-IMF support mechanism that will assist Greece with loans at reasonable interest rates in exchange for concrete steps to solve the problem, was the only option available at a time when the country was sinking deeper Eve isk and deeper into the crisis, under the pressure of international markets, credit rating agencies and speculators, said the government. The EU and IMF will extend 110 billion euros (145 billion US dollars) in loans over a period of three years. The EU will lend 80 billion euros at an interest rate of 5 percent and the IMF will lend the remaining 30 billion euros at an interest rate of 3 percent. But Greek citizens Atlantica gold, who protest in front of the parliament every week for months, are still not convinced Atlantica gold and ready to back up this exit plan from the crisis. According to recent polls, though the public had realized that the way the Greek state was functioning for years was leading to a dead end, they did not seem to agree that this was the appropriate way out. A recent opinion poll indicated that 61 percent of Greeks oppose the decision to ask for the EU-IMF package. Analysts such as Joseph Hassid, professor of economics at the University of Piraeus, said between joke and seriousness that objection to harsh measures maple story mesos, and the involvement of foreign institutions such as the IMF into domestic policies, maple story mesos is part of the DNA of Greeks, stemming from resistance to Ottoman rule until the 19th century and distrust to the role of foreign powers in Greek matters during the 20th century. Other Greek commentators also support that the strong reactions reported over the past few months by the Greek public are closely linked to the psychology of Greek people whose initial reaction is to complain and oppose any change of status to the worse, any sacrifices unless they are convinced these are absolutely necessary and that the outcome would benefit all. The austerity measures seem to have awakened the rebel hidden inside every Greek. But apart from psychology, there are practical reasons why protesters still gather in front of the parliament in thousands and labor unions still call for nationwide general strikes such the one scheduled for May 20. People deem the belt-tightening measures the government announced under the pressure of the European partners and the IMF experts as unfair to low wedding dresses, and medium income employees and pensioners. Even the prime minister himself acknowledges wedding dresses that the measures are "painful." The austerity program includes reduction of civil workers' wages and allowances by up to 20 percent, similar cutbacks on pensions, tax hikes on VAT, gas, alcohol and tobacco. All these will hit the poor the hardest. Furthermore, the plan includes an end to arbitration in labor contract negotiations, which until now has served as a safety net for workers. Other harsh measures include overhauling the retirement and social security system, raising retirement age and cutting pensions. People complain that they are asked to sacrifice too much to maintain the rights they won through decades of hard struggles in workers movement. Suddenly they are asked to agree to the sharpest decline in living standard in the last three decades. Some labor union representatives claimed that the impacts of the austerity measures on people's livelihood and income is the harshest dog carriers, and most shocking since the end of the fascist dictatorship in 1974. They also fear that if they succumb to these demands of experts dog carriers and government, more harsh measures will follow. Many people have been reduced to poverty and can hardly afford to support their families. By contrast, some who have gained astronomical sum of dirty money by corruption and tax evasion and should be held responsible for the crisis remain unaffected to a large extent. Many think it unacceptable that they should pay for a crisis they did not create, while the banks held responsible for it are given bailout money. This is the main reason why protesters recently express strong feelings against politicians and the current system. They blame political leaders for making serious mistakes in managing public finances and for allowing a handful of business people to get richer at the expense of the majority of Greeks by by evading tax and stealing money from state coffers. Faced with tough challenge, the Greek government has to strike a balance between appeasing people's widespread anger and taking strong remedies to put the economy back on track very soon. Otherwise, it is likely to run into more serious imminent troubles. Foreign analysts express fears that reform may take a hit if unrest swells to the level of riots that paralysed Athens for weeks in December 2008. The deaths of three bank employees during the previous general strike on May 5 when anarchists set a bank building on fire, fuelled the fears. But some Greek commentators foresee a decline of protests during the summer, which will give the government a chance to show the initial results of their reform measures. They expect a new wave of protests in autumn, culminating in winter, as Greeks will feel even keenly the impact of the austerity measures in their daily life.

The Internet, an important channel for ordinary Chinese to vent their dissatisfaction and expose injustices, has also become a source of defamation and libel. Regulators are pondering adopting a real-name system to clean up the Internet. Is it possible? There are issues over whether a real-name system is technically viable and to what extent banning anonymous online posting sacrifices freedom of speech wow power leveling. Regardless of the answers to these ques-tions, the Internet cannot be taken out of the context of the real world when it comes to regulation. The bustling, chaotic online world mirrors the environment we live in. The Internet doesn't encourage people to sling mud, it only assists it. An ID registration system cannot wow power leveling root out the fundamental problem: a society with many lost souls who lack moral direction. There is no shortage of examples of how the Internet has brought down public officials and celebrities for crossing the ethical bottom line. But the Internet can also reach deep into ordinary people's lives and victimize innocents. With the Internet wow power leveling, getting even seems to be so much easier. Deserted by your partner? Desperate wives throw up obscene pictures on popular online forums to humiliate unfaithful husbands. With condemnation from online users, justice is partly done, or so it seems. However it covers up the fact that family values wow power leveling and marital fidelity have been short-changed in modern China. Mad at your boss wedding dresses? How about posting the internal memos of the company online to entertain the public? Workplace ethics and the consequent business damage count for little wedding dresses when individuals are eager to let their anger out. Loyalty to the company seems like an outdated idea. "Human flesh searches," where Internet users hunt down the real names of people who've come to public attention, can haunt the entire family of the target. Don't think that only corrupt officials or hit-and-run drivers can be the prey in such chases. A careless mistake made years ago might be enough to put someone on the list of an online witch hunt. All that being said World of Warcraft power leveling, the watchdog function of the Internet in China shouldn't be underestimated. It is hoped that with 400 million strong online population, China's Internet can be on the frontline to improve fairness and justice. Online activism is hailed as a pioneer of China's civic society. Yet what is happening is that online abuse is eroding trust World of Warcraft power leveling and rationality, already a rarity in China. Many of the problems in the virtual world are rooted in the real world. Disrespect to different opinion, ignorance of privacy, racial prejudice, and rappelz rupees, an inability to compromise and reach consensus are part of our daily life. With the Internet providing the perfect forum, millions of grumpy messages scattered around are accumulated into rappelz rupees a formidable opinion strong enough to mute any dissident viewpoint. Traditional law is far from sufficient to rein in online irregularities. Without limits of space or anyone to play gatekeeper, online opinion tends to be more biased RuneScape Gold, and extreme, as long as it gets the most clicks. There are hardly any taboo topics or limits of freedom of speech on the Internet. But technology is neutral, RuneScape Gold and only the people who use it make the difference. The online world is just a shadowed extension of our real world, where we have lost our basic sense of right and wrong. Long before the birth of the Internet, our country experienced years of chaos when the public opinion was hijacked by a few ideologues. The breakdown in moral values has resulted in a society ruled by the law of the jungle, and the online world cannot be an exception where rationality prevails. The real-name system, in theory, might help clear Internet clamor, but the shadow of a giant mass of people who have lost their ability to judge right and wrong is still there.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of petitioners make their way to Beijing and elsewhere to appeal to the higher authorities. Their goals are numerous, from redress for local government abuses to the recovery of relatives who have disappeared into the prison system. Local governments often make efforts to try cabal alz, and prevent petitioners reaching higher authorities, since it can cause embarrassment or even investigations by central authorities if local problems are exposed. Petitions remain a difficult problem to solve cabal alz, especially for local governments. Thus, we find that almost all government agencies, including the executive authorities, courts and various levels of the people's congresses, have established their own petition departments. Despite the importance attached to it, the petition situation has not yet been significantly improved, still less completely solved. In 2005 the State Council introduced a new set of regulations on petitions, trying to standardize and institutionalize the process. But in recent years wow power leveling, the number of petitioners has only grown, wow power leveling and being a petitioner has virtually become a job by itself. The petitioning system is often accused of being an outdated relic of the old idea of individualized "rule of man." There are claims that the normalization or institutionalization of the petition system will undermine the authority of the modern judicial system and the rule of law. There is some justice to these claims. Petitions can deny the finality of justice, tying up affairs in higher courts for years and years. They reflect individual effort and persistence rather than abstract legal values. But we should look at the reasons why people petition 2moons dil, and the ways in which the system functions rather than getting caught up in theoretical claims. There's a joke in which two petitioners from Shanghai and Henan Province, both of whom have been forcibly relocated from their homes, are talking about their cases 2moons dil. The Henanese sighs after hearing his Shanghai counterpart's story, "But your compensation for resettlement is so good! Why are you petitioning?" This joke reflects that unfairness is the most common reason people petition. Take relocation for example. For ordinary people, comparing themselves to their neighbors is more important and direct than the provisions of the law. If there is inequity maple story mesos, no matter how good their resettlement compensation is and no matter what the court's decision is, it doesn't help. Another problem is that those who complain the loudest get the most attention. In order to maintain social stability maple story mesos, the government will satisfy the unreasonable demands of some petitioners, resulting in broader unfairness and indirectly encouraging ordinary people to solve problem through petitioning. Certainly, not everyone will petition due to unfairness. Although some people petition simply to get an explanation, most people petition in order to get compensation and find a new way to live. Injustice often has a major effect on people's lifestyle, normally disruptive. For instance, farmers who lose their land lose not only their home but their whole way of life, and need to find a way to survive. Finally, the ultimate goal of petitioning is not to make trouble, but to resolve disputes. If such disputes could be fairly resolved through the modern legal system flyff penya, nobody would spend considerable time and effort in petitioning. But in reality, an obscure and often incomprehensible legal code flyff penya, corruption in the judicial system, the high costs of litigation, and indirect encouragement by the government mean that it's more economic and effective to settle disputes through petitioning. So the petitioning system isn't simply a remnant of the old society. Instead, imperfections in the rule of law itself produce petitions. From this point of view, petitioning does not undermine or damage the idea of the rule of law. On the contrary, it exposes inadequacies in the system and thus allows us to correct them. Petitions themselves aren't a problem; they're a result of flaws in our current system. As long as we look at the root causes of petitions, make better laws, and ensure they are fairly implemented, petitions will disappear naturally.

I was shopping at my local grocery store the other day, looking for fruit juice. This was at one of the major local chain stores, with literally hundreds of locations. I went to the drink section and found nothing. I don't mean they didn't have anything to drink, but everything available was Coke, or Gatorade, or some sickly-sweet orange-colored flavored fruit drink. There wasn't a single can or bottle of real fruit juice. And then I realized, it's happening in China, too. I mean the same thing that has already overwhelmed the US and many other "devel-oped" nations. Food is becoming wedding dresses, something that doesn't get dug out of the ground, or plucked from a tree, or pulled from the water, or raised on a farm. Food is now something that comes in a brightly-colored package, and what's in the package is increasingly unlike anything ever intended by nature. In the US if something is labeled as a "fruit drink," it actually needs to contain only 10 percent of actual juice. The rest is water and sugar wedding dresses and food coloring. It's a major contributor to the diabetes rate in the US, which has reached 25 percent in some areas. This is a catastrophe world of warcraft gold, and it's also the gateway to other severe medical conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer. We might say it's people's own fault for not changing their diet world of warcraft gold, but what if they go into the store, like I did, and have no other option? China is going through a transitional period in its development. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people still live a traditional rural life, and you can still find local farmers' markets with real produce direct from the fields shaiya gold, or maybe little mom-and-pop stands on the side of the road selling whatever is in season. But they are being squeezed out little by little shaiya gold, just as they have been in the US. As China becomes more urban, and more people do their shopping at the big box stores, they are feeding themselves on pre-packaged food that must, inevitably, succumb to certain inflexible market pressures. When major labels take over your food supply, they have you enslaved. When Nestle, or Danone, or Kelloggs or Kraft gets between you and the farmer, then they will do whatever they can to make the food more profitable for them. The first step is corn sweetener aion kina, and lots of it. Added fat. Added salt. Modifiers, thickeners, food coloring, starch, and throw in some more sugar. Put in all kinds of preservatives so that the "food" can now sit on a shelf or in a warehouse for months without spoiling. Then, get a cool looking mascot to sell it. Let's see, how about a smiling bunny rabbit? A flying cow? A superhero aion kina? How about a famous Beijing or Hong Kong movie star on the label? That must mean it's good for you and delicious, and you'll be rich and famous and happy just like them. In the produce section 2moons dil,, I noticed these lovely fresh vegetables, shrink wrapped on a styrofoam tray, labeled "organic." Well, why did our food become inorganic in the first place? That means that everything that isn't so labeled has been variously contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and God knows what else, and that's most of the fruits 2moons dil and vegetables all around us. Now, we are to believe that going organic is somehow progress, when it's actually returning to where we've already come from. And it cd keys, costs twice as much. cd keys When the inorganic costs less than the organic, which do you think the consumer is going to buy? This adulteration of the food supply is happening all around and with all kinds of foods, although the process is insidious and almost unnoticeable. China has one of the world's finest food cultures, a long tradition of rich and varied local delicacies prepared maple story mesos and appreciated as an art form. Many towns and cities boast about their famous specialties which are proudly offered to visiting guests. However, little by little, convenient maple story mesos, and pre-packaged foods are becoming the norm for hard-working young couple who simply don't have enough time or energy to prepare the natural meals that their parents made. If we stop caring about the foods we put into our bodies to keep us healthy, who's going to care for us?

Zhao Zuohai, a 57-year-old farmer from Henan Province, was released on May 9 after being wrongly jailed for 11 years for a murder that didn't even happen. Two police officers who tortured a confession out of him were arrested recently, and a third officer is still at large. The following is an interview between the Qiangguo Forum of people.com.cn (PO) and Qu Xuewu (Qu), a researcher at the Institute of Legal Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on the deficiencies of China's legal system. PO: What needs to be changed in China's legal system? Qu: The first thing that must be changed is police culture. Torture during interrogation has been a part of Chinese legal culture for thousands of years, andwow power leveling, it's important to reshape the police culture to eradicate this. Public security organs often consider the discovery and confirmation of crime as their top task. They neglect the idea that they also have to guarantee the suspects' basic human rights. Whether humanity is more important than wow power leveling efficiency is a controversial topic among criminal law experts. Some say that efficiency should be prioritized, because only through promptly solving cases can the police crack down on crime and human rights actually be protected. I think world of warcraft power leveling, there is bias here, however. From my perspective, human rights don't merely mean protecting the interests of the majority. Any individual, whether he is a suspect or a criminal, has the right to personal dignity and security. China has done far from enough to guarantee these. Many police officers tend to believe that world of warcraft power leveling a suspect or a defendant is automatically a bad person who deserves no humanity. We have to change this stereotype. We also need to weigh procedural justice and substantive justice - the right to a fair investigation and trial, versus an actual outcome where the guilty are punished. Sometimes police officers feel overworked, and so use whatever means they want to achieve their goals. In doing so, they are actually prioritizing substantive justice over procedural justice. However, the latter is very important to avoid people being falsely accused or wrongly convicted, because in that case no concept of justice is served at all. The second problem is that our entire legal culture also needs reform. We still don't have a people-orientated concept of law. We are building a better nation and a better society to provide individuals with maximum freedom, maximum realization of their personal values flyff money, and maximum protection of human rights. Therefore, punishment, as a form of public power flyff money, shouldn't be excessively used at the price of sacrificing citizens' freedom, rights and realization of their personal values. I've come to value the thought of British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) that moderate laws can make national life more humane and help its government win respect from the citizens. Qu: China signed up to the United Nations Convention Against Torture early in 1988. However, to guarantee the convention is actually enforced, we must reform the way cases are handled. The police, procuratorial organs (the equivalent of public prosecutors in the West), and wedding dresses, courts do not adequately supervise each other during the process of investigation and trial. The reward and punishment mechanisms for police officers wedding dresses also needs reform. Currently, there is a common tacit rule that murder cases must be cracked, otherwise the police officers in charge will be punished. But actually some murder cases are unsolvable. It's not enough to rely on moral and cultural measures to curb torture. China should establish an anti-torture committee, directly responsible to the National People's Congress, to supervise and check the practice of public power. Public prosecutors should periodically report to the committee their investigation of police officers extorting confessions by torture. The Criminal Law needs to flyff gold, be further reformed too. For instance, Article 47 stipulates that extorting confessions by torture is not allowed. But the law doesn't stipulate that evidence acquired through torture is not admissible. PO: Police officers are sometimes under great pressure from their superiors flyff gold, who require that a case must be cracked within seven days. Is it hard for them to avoid using torture during investigation in such circumstance? Qu: I'm not a police officer, so I can't completely stand in their shoes. But I think we have to be practical about these things, rather than come at them from the perspective that hard work can achieve anything. It's like the Stakhanovite work slogans of the past, when we had slogans like "Where there is human will, there is a farm harvest." It's the same logic as the seven-day rule, but the truth is that sometimes all the will and hard work in the world won't achieve something. In this case, sometimes it's impossible to solve every case no matter how great the efforts the police make, so requiring them to do so within seven days is simply unrealistic and impracticable. My suggestion is that police officers in charge of a specific case should tell their superiors whenever this is an unreasonable requirement. The most important thing is to promote reform throughout the system, both from the top down and bottom up. If a police officer obeys his leader's requirement to crack a case within seven days, and thus tortures a confession out of a suspect, then both the police officer and his leader ought to be held responsible. PO: Over the past year, we've witnessed cases in which suspects or criminals died, according to the local police, of "playing hide and seek," "taking a shower," or "drinking cold water." Can China strengthen third-party mechanisms to restrain law enforcers, like recording, videotaping and supervision during the entire process? Qu: Today we sometimes practice the recording aion kina, and videotaping of investigations. But the Zhao Zuohai case took place 11 years ago. At that time, there were probably no such internal rules requiring recording or videotaping. But even today, we don't practice recording and aion kina videotaping of the entire handling of a case. It's also very hard to know whether a tape records the entire process or not. Therefore, both internal and external supervision should be further strengthened. The further reform of our criminal investigation is also related to China's economic development. As the country becomes richer and more powerful, China's abilities and resources to carry out criminal investigations are becoming stronger too. PO: How should victims of torture by police officers protect their legal rights and interests? Qu: In light of current mechanisms, it's very hard for suspects to protect their rights and interests. In some foreign countries, a suspect has the right to keep silent. But in China, suspects are repeatedly told that if they confess they'll get a lighter sentence. It's hard to completely and comprehensively ensure suspects' right to keep silence in China. But I think at least we can begin to allow lawyers, who are currently only allowed to play a consultative function, to join the investigation as representatives of the defendants. Suspects need lawyers to collect the evidence that can lead to acquittal or a lighter sentence. The suspects themselves are detained, and it's hard for them to protect their rights and interests themselves. They need external help, and we must change the system to allow this.

A recent survey showed that children from 7 to 14 read no more than three books outside the school each semester on average. Few books interest them. Either there is too much homework or books are too expensive. And, of course, there's the computer and Internet. Every week, they read for 2.5 hours. "Parents have no idea what kind of books to buy for their kids, and children lack proper guidance," said a bookstore owner surnamed Gao, who's been running a community bookstore for 10 years near the capital's Central Business District. "Parents buy computers for World of Warcraft power leveling, their kids as soon as they join primary school because they don't want them to fall behind," she said. "Therefore they hardly open a book." Gao recalled that three years ago, comic books sold well World of Warcraft power leveling, but now the business is dull, because kids have choices other than reading, for instance, the computer, cartoon, DVD and e-book. Take the case of a businessman surnamed Lin. He went to Xinhua Book Store, China's biggest chain bookstore, to find something to prepare his 5-year-old son for enrolling in primary school. "I'm looking for something fun and instructive, but I can't find such books here," he said. He came across numerous exam papers and exercises designed for primary schoolchildren, but Lin couldn't figure out what to buy. Books and kids The book building in Xidan area of Beijing is a paradise for kids to read. They sit on the floor and browse Japanese comics their parents will not buy. Han Wan'er, 10, was a book lover. She shuttled back archlord money, and forth in the children's book section as if she has entered a playground. She searched through the comic books archlord money, picked up Doraemon and Detective Conan, and rushed to the geography books. "I like manga and sci-fi stories best," she said. "I usually finish the manga once I get home." Han said she read lots of books and had hundreds at home, but was worried when asked about her leisure activity. "I have no time to play because I'm already in fifth grade." She is pressured for entering junior high school, as she has to attend weekend classes of prospective schools. Liu Jin, 27, a former teacher of a boarding school in Beijing, said students read more than three books each semester. "They spent more time reading than day scholars because they had nothing else to do." In the schools for children of migrant workers, reading is less because there aren't enough books, according to Liu. "As I know, children below third grade have such a heavy load of homework that some of them can't finish it before 10 pm." she said. "Besides, parents send them to classes such as dancing, English and piano on weekends." "Children love the Internet," she said. "A 9-year-old student can stay up all night playing computer games during the May Day holiday." They are more intelligent, aoc power eveling knowledgeable than we used to be, as they have more ways to learn, she said. Trends Gao, of the CBD bookshop aoc power eveling, said paperback books no longer sell. One wall in her 10-square-meter shop was occupied by a large selection of Japanese comics. Others included Chinese classics, novels and children's picture books. She used to have a much larger store selling many children's books, reference titles and youth literature. But now there are only a few storybooks on a small shelf. Her own son does not like reading. "Grown-ups seldom read, not to mention schoolchildren," she said. "People don't think it is worthwhile to spend 20-30 yuan($2.9-4.4) on a book." A girl around 15 bought a copy of Dream of Red Mansions, one of the four classics. "We read the four novels when we were kids, but now they don't read it until they are grown-ups," Gao said. In a quiet corner against the French windows of Jianwai Soho community, a colorful rainbow road leads to the Kid's Republic - a world of picture books. Poplar Kids' Republic, a chain bookstore and publishing company from Japan, opened its first outlet in Beijing in 2005 to introduce children's picture books and build reader's clubs in high-end communities to provide a relaxed reading environment. They have branches in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Shenyang. The picture books, mostly imported and translated into Chinese, are popular among preschool children. "In fact, few primary students come to Poplar Kids' Republic, though picture books are a good choice for students from 6 to 9," said Zhang Xuemei, shop manager in Beijing. "But the book sold well during the fairs we hold at local primary schools because children, rather than parents, decided what they read." These fun and aoc power leveling, lovely books with delicate illustrations are easily buried amid reference books in big stores aoc power leveling, so parents don't notice them or recognize their value, she said. "In Poplar Kids' Republic, picture books claim attention because they are everywhere." Few children's book stores can be found in Beijing, she said. "Readers will appreciate illustrated books only after they experience it. So it's important that parents accept them first," she said. Though they are more expensive because of higher cost of paper and ink, families in cities can afford them, she said. Survey findings The observations of bookshop owners on children's reading habits, support a survey's findings on many counts. The survey, done for Children's Reading Year of 2009, was first of its kind. Initiated last June, it was to study the reading habits of schoolchildren from 7 to 14 and provide the basis for reading service, research, publishing and education. More than 150,000 children from 600 schools in 35 cities took part in the study through questionnaires and interviews. Of those surveyed, 87.8 percent are urban schools and 11.5 percent from rural areas. The result showed last chaos gold, that 95 percent students like to read extracurricular books while 5 percent do not like to do so. Students are mostly interested in comics and last chaos gold animation, fairy tales, science fiction, detective stories and history books. Only 12.2 percent like reference books. Five parents out of 100 do not allow their children to read books other than textbooks, and nearly half of the students said their choice of books is influenced by their classmates and friends, rather than parents and teachers. "Compared to developed countries, reading is far from sufficient for kids in China," Yang Liu, head of Hunan Children's Library and initiator of the survey, told the Global Times. "We want to figure out how far we are lagging behind." According to Yang, students of the same age group read in average six books per semester in developed countries. The examination-oriented education system remains an obstacle for children to take up reading. "They read to improve their grades, rather than to foster the reading habit," he said. China is a big country for publishing, and 2moons gold, reference books are a driving force in the market, Yang said. "School children should read comprehensively, because it is crucial they develop 2moons gold the habit and a passion for reading." "We should give guidance to children for more suitable books and parents must set an example in reading," he said. "It is more difficult to run a children's library than a public library and because children's activities are strictly controlled by parents and teachers, and they don't take the initiative themselves," he said. There are about 80 children's libraries in China, which "definitely cannot meet the demand," he said. He wanted to make people understand the importance of reading for children, strengthen their reading service and learn the significance of reading in their growth. "It is urgent we help children get access to books, then find them the ones they like and teach them the method of reading," he said. Wang Rui, a teacher, said the television and Internet cannot replace reading because kids will learn to think independently by reading, and develop correct views on life. According to Takashi Saito, a Japanese writer, reading is not an interest, but an ability, for self-improvement and communication. "It is better to force yourself to check out new publications because reading is the fastest way to absorb new information," he wrote in his book Reading Ability. He suggested that teachers inspire and develop students' ability of reading in classes by bringing the books they have read and ask students to take the ones they like. Cao Wenxuan, a professor of literature at Peking University, pointed out that children's reading underwent an "eco-crisis", as the number of published books surged but lacked quality and aesthetic value. "Some books are useless in helping kids grow or improve their writing ability. Rather than spend time reading, it's better we let them go out to see the blue sky and white clouds, and have them appreciate the beauty of nature," he said. Cao also said that picture books are essential to form a spiritual basis in children's life, but often neglected by parents and teachers for a number of reasons.

China has almost completely lost its pricing power in international trade, as the prices of key commodities, including iron ore, oil, copper and food, have soared this year amid mounting imports by the world's second-largest economy, China's Ministry of Commerce warned Sunday. Yao Jian, a spokesman for the ministry, noted at a business forum in Beijing that one major challenge China faces and will have to conquer is having no say in the pricing scheme of bulk commodities, Beijing Business Today newspaper reported Monday. The long-existing problem was highlighted recently after Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group, the three largest exporters of iron ore, threatened last month to cut supplies to China unless steel makers accept their price demands. China's steel lobbyist, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), finally compromised and allowed steel makers to reach temporary private deals with ore producers. "The steel mills, which have to wow power leveling, accept the new quarterly pricing system raised by the global miners, will have to pay at least $70 billion more this year, based on the current prices and last year's import volume," Yao said. The imports of crude oil, copper and food face problems similar to those confronting iron ore wow power leveling, which accounts for 65 percent of the global import, due to the severe imbalance between supply and demand, increasing dependency on imports and barriers to overseas purchases, and the manufac-tures have to adapt to cost fluctuations. "A phenomenon began in the international commodity market this century: The price of a commodity will rise if China intends to buy it, and it will fall if China will sell," Yao said. "China's pricing power in the international trade system has almost completely collapsed, though our import volume is huge." The abnormal situation in foreign trade indicates knight noah, that there are many problems in our market mechanism, which could affect further opening to the outside world and sustainable and steady economic development, Yao argued. Yao on Sunday cited three ways to change the unfavorable position knight noah, including integrating the domestic market to strengthen cooperation between enterprises; employing anti-monopoly laws and WTO rules to contain the manipulation of prices by global miners; making use of multiple finan-cial means, including futures markets, to enhance Chinese enterprises' influence on market prices. Zhou Shijian, a senior researcher with the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that low industrial concentration and the absence of an integrated domestic market are important factors affecting China's pricing power in the world's raw-materials market. "There are too many small players aoc gold, in the domestic market that conduct business deals separately instead of forming an alliance in price negotiations aoc gold, causing China to lose the initiative in setting prices for bulk commodities, in both imports and exports," Zhou said. Liu Chen, an analyst with a Beijing-based futures brokerage, told the Global Times Monday that limited purchasing channels have made China more passive in pricing negotiations. However, he suggested that the price hikes of many bulk commodities, especially iron ore, can't last long, and prices will, by and large, return to a reasonable level determined by supply and demand. "If the prices of many commodities cannot be accepted by their end users, they will lose the foundation of a continuous rise and return to a level acceptable to the market," he said. Chinese enterprises began to archlord gold, diversify their overseas investments last year, with the targeted areas expanded from Australia to North America, Latin America and Africa, and the types of materials expanded from iron ore to oil and nonferrous metals, the Guangzhou Daily reported Monday. Yao Guang, general manager of the Galaxy Futures Broker archlord gold, told the Economic Information Daily that an essential method to raise China's pricing power is to develop its commodity-futures markets, which can help enterprises avoid future risks in price fluctuations. Futures are exchange-traded contracts that fix a price to buy or sell sugar, copper or oil a day, month or year in advance. China launched stock and commodity futures trading in the early 1990s. According to the Washington-based Futures last chaos gold, Industry Association, in 2008, the three futures exchanges in China traded three of the world's five most-active metals contracts and seven of the 10 biggest agricultural contracts based on volume. However, an opinion released by the Wall Street Journal in December warned last chaos gold that volumes on active Chinese exchanges overstate their importance in commodity pricing. "A futures industry joke says China is second only to the weather in driving some commodity prices - but less predictable," the article said. "It is true that we have a long-term goal of increasing our influence in terms of pricing, but to do that we have to create conditions and do it step by step," Jiang Yang, a chief futures-industry policymaker and assistant chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told the WSJ in an interview. China's lack of pricing control is also reflected in some materials that are abundant in the country. The "underselling" of rare earth metals stands as the best example. China has world of warcraft power leveling, more than 50 percent of global reserves of rare earth resources, and accounts for 90 percent of the global market share. Statistics show, however, that while China's export volume of rare earth increased by nearly 10 times from 1990 to 2005, the average price fell to half the 1990 price. Over-exploitation and a lack of supervision have resulted in a marked price decline in the international market. Many manufacturers lower prices to compete with each other world of warcraft power leveling, creating more industry problems. The Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday that a subsidiary of China's Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Company will be responsible for implementing a strategic rare-earth reserve plan at Baotou City in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times that what China should do is reasonably raise the price of the resources that the country has advantages over, compared with other countries, by following the rule of supply and demand.

Thailand's red-shirt protesters defied a government deadline for leaving the demonstration zone in downtown Bangkok by Monday afternoon, but Thai authorities extended their ultimatum for people moving out of the fortified encampment. Acting government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said Monday that the govern-ment's main focus is to convince women, children and the elderly to leave the Rajprasong rally site, according to the website of Thailand-based The Nation newspaper. The ultimatum, issued by the Center for the Resolutions of Emergency Situation, ordered red shirts to leave their protest zone by 3 pm (local time) Monday, but protesters appeared to wedding dresses, be reluctant to move out. Police said an estimated 5,000 people remained, with some seen dancing despite the threat of forced dispersal. Weng Tochirakarn, a core leader of the red shirts, told the Global Times by phone that wedding dresses they would not leave the rally site unless the government soldiers stop fighting. "The protest is still going on. The government must withdraw all soldiers and come to the negotiation table. Let the UN be witness to the negotiation," he said, adding that continued protests will put pressure on the government to stop its crackdown. Late last night, red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar telephoned Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's secretary-general, Korbsak Sabhavasu, to propose a truce, AFP reported. Nattawut offered to call protesters back to archlord gold, the main protest camp from outlying areas, where fierce street battles have occurred, Korbsak said. "If he calls protesters back to the Ratchaprasong site (the main rally base) and archlord gold stops the action around Bangkok, there will be no more bullets fired by soldiers. Soldiers have not invaded the protest site," Korbsak said. Violence since Friday left 35 people dead, including a soldier. The clash turned parts of the city into no-go zones as troops used live flyff gold, ammunition against protesters, who have blocked streets with burning tires and fought back, mainly with homemade weapons. The government has repeatedly said that the troops would not shoot at innocent people flyff gold, as their targets are the armed red-shirt protesters, whom the government has dubbed "terrorists." The Thai government has offered to resume talks between red-shirt leaders if they abandon the Rajprasong rally site and stop rioting and "attacking troops and innocent people," according to spokesman Panithan. His words were in response to the latest demand by the red-shirt leader, Nuttawut Saikua, who asked the troops to stop "shooting on people," and for the government to withdraw the army com-pletely and resume the peace talks. Thawil Pliensee, secretary-general of the National Security Council, told Reuters that "We will keep sending warnings to protesters and will slowly last chaos money, step up pressure last chaos money if they don't go," adding that there was no immediate plan to clear the main camp by force. Those refusing to leave the rally site face a two-year jail term, authorities have warned. Ji Qiufeng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University, said the red shirts could fail because of their "violent approach in demanding democracy." "Protesters seem to be on the brink of failure. They appear to have lost their rationale as they sought to achieve their goals by using Knight Gold, force against the government. They won't win much of the public support by doing so," Ji said. "The biggest challenge facing the Thai government now is how to manage the country through peaceful Knight Gold and rational means, rather than finding a way to disperse the protestors." Rajvithee, the nearest hospital to the Rajprasong site, started preparing am-bulances and beds as the government's deadline neared for the red-shirt protesters to end their rally, Dr Rewat Wisarutvej, director general of the Medical Services Department, told The Nation. In addition to those killed, 256 others had been injured in the last week, the Erawan's Bangkok Emergency Medical Service Center said. Protesters have occupied areas of downtown Bangkok for weeks, demanding the immediate dissolution of parliament and new elections. The protesters claim that wow power leveling, the current government is illegitimate, alleging that it manipulates the courts and the powerful military. Many of the protesters are from poor rural areas in northern wow power leveling Thailand where support is still strong for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. The violence is feared to worsen as Renegade Thai General Khattiya Sawasdipol died Monday after being shot Thursday in an incident that escalated the current tension. Khattiya, 58, was believed to be shot by a sniper while being interviewed by reporters inside the barricaded protest site in central Bangkok. On Sunday, red-shirt leaders proposed a cease-fire and talks moderated by the United Nations, but the government refused those requests. A red-shirt leader, Jatuporn Prompan, said the only hope now to end the violence was intervention by Thailand's revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. At least nine international embassies in Bangkok - the US, British, Belgium, Canadian, German, Japanese, New Zealand, Swedish and Australian ones - said they would remain closed until at least today as a result of the clashes. Government offices and schools were also closed Monday, as were Bangkok's mass transit Skytrain and underground services.